Poems for Chad

Remembering Chad

(You may click on the above poem to visit Pam's site.)

When God calls little children

To dwell with Him above,

We mortals sometimes question

The wisdom of His love,

For no heartache can e'er compare

With the death of one small child

Who does so much to make our world

Seem wonderful and mild.

Perhaps God tires of calling

The aged to His fold,

So He picks a little rosebud

BBefore it can grow old.

God knows how much we need them

And so He takes but few

To make the land of heaven

More beautiful to view.

Believing this is difficult,

Still somehow we must try;

The saddest words that mankind knows

Will always be "Goodbye."

So when a little child departs,

We who are left behind,

Must realize God loves children---

And angels are hard to find.

I am home in Heaven, dear ones,

Oh, so happy and so bright!

There is perfect joy and beauty

In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief are over,

Every restless tossing past;

I am now at peace forever,

Safely home in heaven at last.

Did you wonder I so calmly

Trod the valley of the shade?

Oh, but Jesus' love illumined

Every dark and fearful glade.

And He came Himself to meet me

In the way so hard to tread,

And with Jesus' arm to lean on,

Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must not grieve so sorely,

For I love you dearly still;

Try to look beyond earth's shadows,

Pray to trust our Father's will.

There is work still waiting for you,

So you must not idly stand;

Do it now, while life remaineth---

You shall rest in Jesus' land.

When that work is all completed,

He will gently call you home;

Oh, the rapture of that meeting,

Oh, the joy to see you come!

In Memory of My Friend Chad

A few years ago I met a friend,

And just last year I lost him.

It was a real sad day in a lot of people's lives,

And I saw tears run down from our eyes.

I couldn't believe it when they told me that day

That he was gone--just slipped away.

He was just like a brother, a cousin, or friend,

And I would give anything if it were me instead of him.

I go visit his grave sometimes, and I wish he were alive today,

So we could work and talk and maybe even play.

Sometimes when I daydream, I envision him

Just like a ghost from the past.

I saw him one day and it was so real,

It really made me gasp.

It will be a year ago June 12th,

Where beside his grave, I cried and knelt.

Now he is gone, but his memory remains--

What we did, what we said, and some other things.

He is here now, around me in the air.

And I know one day, I will see him up there.

(Written in June 1987)

Whenever Precious Children Die

                    Whenever precious children die,

                    We cannot help but ask, Lord, why?

                    Why would You take this little one

                    With so much of life still left undone?

                    And yet we know You have a plan,

                    Though we may never understand,

                    And from the time of each childs birth,

                    You know when each will leave this earth.

                    And though our years be long or few,

                    We ultimately dwell with You;

                    And only You know when weve met

                    All the goals that You have set

                    For each of us to meet down here;

                    And never need there be a fear

                    That there has been some dread mistake,

                    For errors, Lord, You never make.

                    And, so, although we know not why

                    We know it was their time to die,

                    And that with Jesus, hand in hand,

                    They walked into Your Promised Land.

                    Of course, we cannot help but grieve---

                    We were not willing that they leave,

                    And we will mourn their loss each day

                    And miss their sweet and loving ways.

                    Well think on days both bright and drear,

                    If only THEY were with us here..

                    We know our hearts will always ache,

                    But us, O Lord, Youll neer forsake;

                    All our sorrow You will share

                    And our pain Youll help us bear.

                    And still, O Lord, we trust Your plan---

          We know one day well understand,

                    When we can meet You face to face

                    And You will all our tears erase.

                    So may it comfort us somehow

                    To know they live in heaven now

                    And that with Jesus, hand in hand,

                    They walked into Your Promised Land.

Saralyn McAfee Smith

Click on train logo to visit Saralyn's homesite.

                      Never Ready to Say Goodbye



                    We're never ready to say goodbye

                             To someone we hold dear.

                             If it were up to us, dear one,

                             We'd always keep you here.

                             But God has reasons of His own

                             And plans we do not know,

                             And these are always for our good,

                             Though it may seem not so.

                             Our arms are empty and our hearts

                             Are filled with tears and grief,

                             For we who loved each day with you,

                             Now find those days too brief.

                             Yet if only we could heaven see,

                             We'd know youre happy there,

                             And we would never call you back

                             When such great joy you share.

                             And so we'll trust you to God's great care

                             And know some day, once more,

                             We'll hold you to our hearts again

                             When we reach heaven's shore.

                           Saralyn McAfee Smith

Click on train logo to visit Saralyn's homesite.